work –
The door swung open, and Jarod jumped back, clearly surprised to see her there. Rhea swallowed hard, knowing she’d trapped herself. She couldn’t back out now.
“Oh, hi, Rhea. You startled me.”
He looked her up and down, then bit his bottom lip. She wondered what that meant. Maybe he was trying not to laugh at her.
She shot him her best, most flirty smile. “It’s a good thing you’re here. My garbage disposal is making awful noises. Do you know anything about those things?”
This wasn’t a total lie. She’d tossed a few orange peels down there this morning, and the piece of crap disposal always had trouble with those.
Jarod ran his fingers through his hair, which today he’d washed and neatly groomed. The smell of his shampoo wafted over to greet her, and it made her want him even more.
“I’m no plumber, but I know a little, I guess.” His eyes landed on hers. “You want me to take a look at it?”
That’s not all I want you to take a look at, she thought.
“If you could, I’d be so grateful.”
He followed Rhea back to her house, and as they stepped inside, she wished she’d taken the time to clean it up a little. The place needed a dusting, vacuuming, mopping…pretty much every chore she’d been neglecting for the past month or so. She hoped Jarod wouldn’t notice or care.
“Here it is,” she said, leading him to the kitchen. She handed him a flashlight, which she’d conveniently placed on the counter next to the sink.
As he peered down into the disposal, she leaned over the counter, a little bit closer to him than should have been appropriate. Then she made sure her breasts were slightly exposed – not too much, though. She didn’t want him to think she was a slut.
“It’s hard to see, but I think you’ve got something down there.” His gaze shifted from the drain to her, then settled on her chest for a moment.
She inched closer to him and peered over his shoulder. They were so close now, and she longed to press up against him, to run her hands all over his body. What would he do, she wondered, if she made a move?
“Can you get it out?”
Jarod forced himself to look back at the sink. He took a deep breath and stuck his hand down the disposal.
“So, uh…what are you up to today?” He grabbed one of the orange peels, pulled it out, then tossed it in the trash. “It’s my day off, so I thought about heading to the park for a run.”
Rhea adored athletic men. She liked that they took good care of their bodies and minded their health. A guy couldn’t possibly treat her right if he didn’t care about himself first.
“I might go for a swim. It really is a lovely day.” She stretched her arms and legs, and her shirt lifted up a little, revealing her stomach. “I could use the exercise.”
She waited for him to respond. How many cues did she need to give him before he took the hint, anyway?
He retrieved another peel. As he walked it to the trash can, he cast a sideways glance at her belly.
“It’s nice to work out,” he said, swallowing hard. “But it’s not like you need it. You look like you’re in good shape to me.”
The tension between them was starting to frustrate Rhea now. Maybe the guy had something against casual sex. Well, she didn’t care about his hang-ups. She hadn’t gotten laid in months, and she was determined to have him.
He ran the disposal, and it hummed along quietly. Rhea wished she’d thrown more orange peels down there so he’d have a reason to stay longer.
“Looks like you’re all set.” He washed his hands, dried them on a towel, and gave her a shy smile.
“Yeah, thanks.”
As she led him out, she couldn’t believe that he hadn’t made a pass for her. She’d practically thrown herself at him. What the hell was wrong with him? Maybe he was just gay. No, that didn’t make sense. He seemed to enjoy staring at her breasts. She doubted gay people did that.
“Let me know if you need help